Notation
Note: The tunes below are recorded in what
is called “abc notation.” They
can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with
your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then
“cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc
conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC
Convert-A-Matic” at

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s
Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use
abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct
cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s
into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For
concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between
all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are single-spaced,
with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert
to standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well
worth it.[AK]

R. P. CUMMINGS WELCOME. Shetland, Pipe March. A Major.
Standard tuning. AABB'CCDD'. Anderson
(1983) states this four-part pipe march was written for Ronnie Cumming, Surgeon
Consultant for Shetland, when he was made President of the Shetland Fiddler
Society. “Ronnie comes from a long tradition of piping, and is an excellent
piper himself.” Anderson (Ringing Strings), 1983; pg. 83.

RUB
THE BAG (“Cumuil an Mala” or “Cumail an Mhailin”).
Irish, Jig, Long or Set Dance (6/8 time). C Major (Cole, Joyce): D Major
(O'Neill). Standard. AAB (Cole, Joyce): AABB (O'Neill/Krassen): AA'BB (O'Neill/1850
& 1001). Joyce notes the tune was well known in Cork
and Limerick, and that Petrie gives a Kilkenny version
of this tune under the title “Ree Raw.” Joyce
notes that in Munster the phrase
‘cumail a’ mhailin’ (like “Ree Raw”) signifies “confusion or uproarious
merriment.” Source for notated version: “I learned it when a boy (in the 1840's
in Limerick) from fiddlers and pipers, who used to play
it as a set dance. I remember seeing a man dance it one time on a table”
[Joyce]. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes),
1940; pg. 73. Joyce (Ancient Irish Music),
1873/1890; No. 52, pg. 52. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 223. O'Neill (Music
of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 1795, pg. 336. O'Neill (Dance
Music of Ireland:
1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 968,
pg. 166. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection,
1883; pg. 104 (appears as a jig).

RUBBER DOLLY (BREAKDOWN) [1]. AKA ‑ "Rubber Dolly
Rag." AKA and see "Back Up
and Push [1]." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA;
Texas, Arkansas,
North Carlolina, Virginia,
New YorkState.
C Major (Phillips): A Major (Bronner). Standard or AEAE (for A Major version).
AA (Bronner): AA'BB' (Phillips). The title appears in a list of traditional OzarkMountain fiddle tunes compiled by
musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. According to Bronner
(1987), "Rubber Dolly" was first collected as a Anglo‑American
children's game with the following words or variants (which may have come from
a music‑hall song of the 1890's):

***

My Mommy told me, she's going to buy a rubber dolly,

If I
was good, So don't you till her I kissed a feller/soldier

Or she won't buy me a rubber dolly.

***

Bronner
also says the tune has a similarity to an older British Isles
melody called "Lord
Alexander's Reel/Hornpipe," though he must have consulted other
versions of the melody for his sources' version is somewhat obscure. It has
been a favorite Texas or western
swing piece in the 1930's and 40's, and has also been collected in the
northeast. Source for notated version: Charley Hughes (New York State, 1973)
[Bronner]. Bronner (Old-Time Music Makers
of New YorkState),
1987; No. 40, pgs. 146‑147 (includes variations). Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; pg. 37. CMH Country Classics 9027, Johnny Gimble‑ "Texas
Fiddle Collection," 1981. Disc D110, Woody Guthrie‑ "Hard
Travellin.'" Old‑Timey LP‑101, Uncle Bud Landress "Old
Time Southern Dance Music." Old‑Timey LP‑105, Harry Choates‑
"Western Swing."

RUFÉE, LA.French, Country Dance (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. From
the contradance book (tunes with dance instructions) of Robert Daubat (who
styled himself Robert d’Aubat de Saint-Flour), born in Saint-Flour, Cantal,
France, in 1714, dying in Gent,
Belgium, in 1782.
According to Belgian fiddler Luc De Cat, at the time of the publication of his
collection (1757) Daubat was a dancing master in Gent
and taught at several schools and theaters.He also was the leader of a choir and was a violin player in a theater.
Mr. De Cat identifies a list of subscribers of the original publication,
numbering 132 individuals, of the higher level of society and the nobility, but
also including musicians and dance-masters (including the ballet-master from
the Italian opera in London). Many
of the tunes are written with parts for various instruments, and include a
numbered bass. Daubat (Cent Contredanses
en Rond), 1757; No. 48.

RUIDHLE NA MARAGAN DUBH (Reel of the Black Puddings). AKA
and see “Kiss the
Lass Ye Like/Love the Best [1].” Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning.
AABB. The tune appears in other Scottish collections (such as Bremner, c. 1751-61) as “Kiss the Lass
Ye Like Best” (see note for). The black pudding of the title is in both
Scottish and Irish Gaelic marag dubh,
a name derived from the Norse word mörr,
for suet, or blóõ-mörr (blood
pudding). It is made from the blood of cattle and generally stuffed into
sausage casings, served fried with foods like bacon and eggs. Marag is also
used as a term for a shapeless, obese person. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 95.

RUIDHLEADH NAN
COILEACH DUBHA (Reel of the Blackcocks). Shetland, Reel. D Dorian. Standard
tuning. AABB. Each section of the tune consists of only four measures,
repeated. Two different two-couple dances called Ruidhleadh nan Coileach Dubha
were collected from the Shetland Islands. One was
learned in 1956 in South Uist from one Mrs. Margaret MacAskill, then aged 80,
who used to perform the reel at gatherings in the crofts in Smerclett, southern
South Uist; the second is from Neil MacNeil and is from Barra. Both are performed
to the same tune, which also is the vehicle for a Gaelic dance-song which
begins:

***

Ruidhleadh
nan coileadch dubhaReeled the blackcocks

's
dannsaidh na tunnagan,And danced the ducks,

Ruidhleadh
nan coileach dubhaReeled the blackcocks

Air
a' bhruthaich shios ud.On the banks up there.

***

Flett and Flett (1964) remark: "A
number of the older Gaelic dances contained a certain amount of miming, and we
believe that this miming was largely determined by the words of the appropriate
dance-song. The dance Ruidhleadh nan Coileach Dubha is a case in point--here
the kneeling couple represent the ducks, while the dancing couple are the
blackcocks."Flett & Flett (Traditional Dancing in Scotland),
1964; pg. 169.

RUINS OF KILLMALLOCK, THE (Fotarac
Cill-Moceallog). Irish, Double Jig. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB.
Killmallock was once, in the middle ages, the third largest town in Ireland
(after Dublin and Kilkenny), and
was later the seat of the powerful Earls of Desmond between the 14th
and 17th centuries. There are famous ruins of a Dominican Friary at
Killmallock, CountyLimerick,
built in the 13th century but sacked by Cromwell’s forces in 1648.

RULE, BRITANNIA.
“Smile America.”
English, Air (cut time). G Major. Standard tuning. One part. The music was
composed by Dr. Thomas Augustine Arne for his masque of Alfred (some sources say the opera was The Judgement o’ Paris), first performed as the end of an
entertainment before Frederick, Prince of Wales, at Clivedon House, near
Maidenhead, August, 1740, under the title “When Britain First.” The opera was
revived in 1759 and the song was printed in Clio an Euterpe’s Of British Harmony, Vol. 1 (1758) under
the “Rule, Britannia” title. Lyrics were the work of Scottish poet James
Thomson. Emmerson (1972) states the song was inspired by imperialistic fervor
engendered by the so-called War of Jenkins' Ear, in which England vied with
Spain in dispute of access to the South American continent. As a nationalistic
song it was a favorite of British troops in the American Revolution, who also
used the titles “When Britain First by Heav’ns Come” and “Hail Britain,
Hail thou Glory’s Pride.” As with several popular British songs, the tune was
co-opted by the Americans with new lyrics, and appears in the Henry Beck Manuscript (pg. 9) of 1786 as
“Smile America.”
Transported to America
the tune was renamed, becoming “Smile America.”
For more, see Chappell (1859). Peter Mackenzie, "the genial reminiscer of Glasgow"
(Emmerson, 1971), mentions the tune as one of the favorite songs of the early
19th century in Lowlands Scots centers. Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Times), Vol. 2, 1859; pgs. 191‑192.

RUMBLINGBRIDGE, THE.
Scottish, Reel. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AAB. The melody appears in John
and Andrew Gow’s A Collection of Slow
Airs, Strathspeys and Reels (London,
c. 1795). Andrew (1760-1803) and younger brother John (1764-1826) established a
publishing business in London in
1788 and were the English distributors for the Gow family musical publications.
The RumblingBridge
is in Perth and Kinross,
Scotland, and was
originally built in 1713 by William Gray, a mason from Saline. A nearby hamlet
takes its name from the structure. The bridge spanned a narrow gorge and the
rushing water of the River Devon below makes a constant sound. Later, in 1816
(long after the Gow’s publication), there was a second bridge built on top of
the first one, so that it is in effect a double bridge. This wider arch gave
greater width to the road and removed the steep gradients down to the old
bridge. Source for notated version: John & Andrew Gow’s Collection (c. 1792) [S. Johnson]. S. Johnson (A Twenty Year Anniversary Collection), 2003; pg. 24.

RUMFORD ASSEMBLY. English, Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). G Major.
Standard tuning. AABB. The melody and dance instructions first appear in John
Hinton’s periodical Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure
(London, 1754). Rumford is the old spelling of the modern Romford, and old market
town that is now within the boundaries of Greater London, to the east. The Star
Brewery has been in operation there since 1708. Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite
Country Dances, vol. 1),
1757; No. 112.

RUN, JOHNNY, RUN [1].AKA‑
"Run, N....r, Run," "Run, Smoke, Run," "Run, Boy, Run." Old‑Time, Bluegrass;
Breakdown. USA;
Georgia, Kentucky,
Arkansas. D Major. Standard
tuning. AABB; AA'BB (Phillips). The song has been dated by some to pre‑Civil
War times when patrols were formed in nearly every Southern county with a
sizable slave population to ensure the slaves stayed on the plantation and did
not "wander;" this was especially so after the scare of the slave
insurrections of the 1820's and 1830's. Bruce Hutton is of the opinion that it
goes back to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 when frontiersmen revolted against
government regulation. The title appears in a list of traditional OzarkMountain fiddle tunes compiled by
musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954.

***

Johnny came down to the mooshine still in the bottom
of the holler at the foot of the hill;

He woke up about the break of day and he thought he
heard his grandpa say:

***

Refrain

Run, Johnny, Run, the Federals'll get you,

Run, Johnny, Run, you'd better get away.

***

Johnny stopped at the top of the hill and he saw them
Federals around his still;

They busted his coil and his boiler too, started
drinking his mountain dew.

***

The Feds caught Johnny makin' a run and they took him
up to Washington;

Set him to work for the government makin' moonshine
for the President.

***

Johnny got rich at the government stills and he run
away to his home in the hills;

Now the Federals are on his tracks, he still owes a
dollar on the whiskey tax.(Kuntz)

RUNMOUNTAIN. Old‑Time,
Breakdown and Song. Most versions stem from J.E. Mainer, who did not claim to
have composed it but rather said it was an old song he had heard.

***

Run Mountain, take a little hill. (x2)

***

Mainer
himself said the last part was “check a little hill,” meaning to investigate a
hill, but his brother Wade thought it may have been a mishearing of “there’s
sugar in the hill,” referring to the preparation of moonshine, according to
Lyle Lofgren.

RUN, NIGGER, RUN. AKA‑ "Run, Johnny,
Run," "Run, Boy, Run," "Run, Smoke, Run," "Pateroller'll Catch You."
Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA;
Missouri, Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Texas,
Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky.
G Major (most versions): D Major (Mississippi
fiddlers W.E. Claunch and Stephen Tucker). Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg):
AABB (Christeson, 1973; Ford): AABBCCDD (Christeson, 1984): AB (Brody): AA
(Thede). Described by Charles Wolfe (1997) as a “favorite from Georgia”
which made its way Southwest into Texas.
One of the set tunes a fiddler would play at some old fiddle contests; prizes
would be given for the best rendition of the tune (1899; Gallatin,
Tenn.) {Charles Wolfe, The Devil's Box, Vol. 14, No. 4, 12/1/80}.
Georgia’s
Fiddlin’ John Carson played the tune in the April, 1913, Atlanta
fiddler’s contest (as recorded by the Atlanta
Journal of Wed. April, 2nd). The melody was in the repertoire of
the John Lusk Band, an African-American string band from the Cumberland
Plateau region of Ky/Tenn. border (as "Pateroller'll Catch
You"?). Kentucky fiddler Doc
Roberts knew the tune by the title "Run N….r, Run," but his recorded
version was released as "Run Smoke, Run," suggesting a more sensitive
re-titling either by him or the recording company; the record sold a modest
9,000 copies when released. The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress
by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from OzarkMountain fiddlers in the early
1940's, and for the same institution in 1939 by Herbert Halpert from the
playing of Mississippi fiddlers
Stephen B. Tucker (LauderdaleCounty)
and W.E. Claunch (Guntown). It was played at a contest in Verbena (central Alabama)
in 1921, as described in the Union Banner
of October 27, 1921.

RUNAWAY
[2], THE.Scottish. John
Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of the tune in Robert Ross's 1780 collection (pg. 27).

RUNAWAY
[3], THE. English, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). E Major.
Standard tuning. AABB. Kidson notes this is from a MS collection of about 1825.
He also states it is different to a dance with this title which appears in
dance books at the commencement of the century. Kidson (Old English Country Dances), 1890; pg. 14.

RUNNING THROUGH THE WHITEOAKS. Old‑Time, Breakdown. In the
repertoire of the John Lusk Band from the Cumberland Plateau
region of Ky./Tenn. border.

RURAL FELICITY [1]. AKA
and see "(Come) Haste To
the Wedding [1]." English, Irish; Single Jig. Melody and song were
introduced in 1767 in the pantomime The
Elopement, performed at London's
DruryLaneTheatre, and became widely popular,
judging from its numerous appearances in musicians’ period manuscript copybooks
on both sides of the Atlantic (refer to the EASMES site for an
extensive listing of individual manuscripts, mostly American on that site). The
title "Rural Felicity" comes from a phrase occurring in the chorus of
the song "Haste to the Wedding," by which latter title it has usually
been known after around the year 1800. The overture for the production was
written by T. Giordani, published in London
in 1768, although it is not known if he also wrote the incidental music for the
play. Like many popular stage melodies of the period, the tune was quickly
adopted for country dancing and it is probably the tune which is listed as
"Rual Pillicity," but missing from Northumbrian musician William
Vickers' 1770 manuscript of dance tunes. The country dance "Rural
Felicity" appears in England
with the tune in Charles and Samuel Thompson's
200 Country Dances, volume III (London, 1773) and the melody appears in
numerous others dance collections and instrumental tutors of the 18th
and early 19th centuries. Different dance figures with the title
appear in America in Clement Weeks' Greenland, New Hampshire, dance MS of 1783,
and in the Gentleman & Lady's
Companion (Norwich, Conn., 1798), pg. 15. Aird (Selection
of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs), vol. 1, 1782; pg. 30. Thompson
(Compleat Collection of
200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 3),
1773; No. 197. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1816; pg. 82.

RUSHES, THE.
Scottish. "First printed by Oswald. It is traditionally connected with
Eskdale and is one of the tunes to which 'The Braes of Yarrow' was sung. It
seems to have been the version sung to Sir Walter Scott by the venerable Tibbie
Shiel from whom he got a great many ballads for his 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish
Border' (Williamson)." Flying Fish FF358, Robin
Williamson ‑ "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers, vol. 1."

RUSSELL’S JIG.American,
Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. From the 1938 manuscript of New Hampshire
musician John Taggart (1854-1943), entitled “Recollections of a Busy Life” (New
Hampshire Historical Society, Concord, N.H.). Taggart wrote in his ms. that the
tunes “were all taught me during my boyhood days in Sharon (N.H.), by the
various fiddlers in that vicinity” [Miller]. Miller points out that Sharon
is in “the heart of the Monadnock Region of southwestern New
Hampshire, where fiddlers and contra dances abound to
this day” (pref. iv) [Miller]. Miller (Fiddler’s
Throne), 2004; No. 95, pg. 67.

RUSTIC
DANCE--SCOTTISCHE [3], THE. AKA and see "Billy Wilson's Clog,” “California Dance,” “California Hornpipe,” "Evening Pleasures Schottische,"
“Kenion Clog,” “The Mason-Dixon Schottische,”
“Nightingale (Clog) [2],” "O Dear Mother My Toes Are Sore
[1]," “Parkersburg Landing,”
“Peacock Rag,” “Rustic
Hornpipe,” “Starlight Clog,” “Wilson’s Clog [2].” American,
Canadian; Schottische. USA; Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan, Kentucky, North
Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, New York. D Major (Christeson): C Major
(Messer). Standard tuning. AABB (Messer): ABC (Christeson). A common, though
widely varied dance tune in the East, Midwest and other parts of the country.
It can be heard rendered in various rhythms, including a schottische, although
some maintain that it is actually a difficult tune to perform that dance to.
Northeastern Kentucky fiddler J.P. Fraley told writer and old-time fiddler
Kerry Blech that a lot of the old-timers in his area played it but that he did
not recall anyone dancing to it. Musicologist Jim Kimball, however, reports the
tune is commonly played for a schottische for community dances in western New
York and that fiddler Mark Hamilton plays a two part version in C which he
calls "Humpty Dumpty Schottische.” He thinks his dad learned it when
visiting the Toronto World's Fair in 1902. Fiddler Lauchlin Shaw, from the
North Carolina piedmont region, had the tune in his repertoire, learned from
Virgil Craven. Fiddler Les Raber of Hastings, Michigan, played the tune in the
key of C Major, as did Lonnie Austin of the Spray/Eden area of North
Carolina.West Virginia traditional
musician Burl Hammons played it on the banjo and called it “Wilson’s Clog.”
Source for notated version: Bob Walters (Burt County, Nebraska) [Christeson].
R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers
Repertory, vol. 2), 1984; pg. 107. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 164, pg. 111
(appears as “Clog in C Major”). County Records, Babe
Spangler – “Old Virginia Fiddlers” (appears as “Schottische”). County 723,
Oscar Jenkins ‑ "Back Home in the Blue Ridge." Edison Records
(78 RPM), John Baltzell {Ohio} (1928). MSOTFA 007, Charlie Walden -
"Draggin the Bow" (1985). Smithsonian/Folkways, Burl Hammons – “The
Hammons Family.” Walter McNew (Ky.) – “Black Jack Grove.”

RUSTY GULLEY [1]. AKA and see “Chalk’s
Hornpipe,” “Geld Him Lasses (Geld
Him).”English, Old Hornpipe. D
Major. Standard tuning. There are several tunes that go by the name “Rusty
Gulley.” This version is one of two that appear in the 1770 music manuscript
copybook of Northumbrian musician William Vickers, about whom, unfortunately,
little is known. There are several tunes that go by the name “Rusty Gulley.”
The title, of which there are many variations, may derive from rostibolio, and Italian dance from the
16th century. However, a ‘gulley’ is Borders and Geordie dialect for
a large knife. This version is one of two that appear in the 1770 music
manuscript copybook of Northumbrian musician William Vickers, about whom,
unfortunately, little is known. See also the similar “Dusty Miller [6].”

RUTLAND'S REEL. Old‑Time,
Breakdown. A Minor. Standard tuning. AABCBDDEEDDB. Part of the tune is from
Georgia Slim Rutland who obtained it from his grandfather's fiddle book and
used it as a show tune; other parts were added by Howdy Forrester, who named
the whole for his mentor. The first strain is similiar to that of minstrel
James Buckley’s "Dar's
Sugar in De Gourd," which appears in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection and Cole's
1000. Source for notated version: Howard Forrester [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol.
2, 1995; pg. 119.

RYAN MEETS CONNOLLY. Irish, Reel. Composed by the late
fiddler Sean Ryan, who visited another fiddler, Seamus Connolly, at his home in
Limerick in the early 1970's. During the visit Ryan recorded several of his
compositions for Connolly, who asked for the title of this reel; Ryan replied
"Janie, sure I've no name for it, why don't we call it 'Ryan Meets
Connolly.'" Green Linnett GLCD 1087, Seamus
Connolly - "Notes From My Mind" (1988).

RYAN'S
REEL. AKA and see "Killannan's Fancy," "The Moving Bog(s) [1]," "The Turnpike Gate [3].” Irish, Reel. The tune
is called by this title after Clare fiddler Joe Ryan who recorded it with
Micheál Ó hAlmhain on a 1970 Comhaltas LP.Shanachie 34009, Frankie Galvin & Alec Finn – “Masters
of Irish Music” (appears as first tune of “Ryan’s Reel” set).

RYCHEL, LA.French, Country Dance (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. From
the contradance book (tunes with dance instructions) of Robert Daubat (who
styled himself Robert d’Aubat de Saint-Flour), born in Saint-Flour, Cantal,
France, in 1714, dying in Gent,
Belgium, in 1782.
According to Belgian fiddler Luc De Cat, at the time of the publication of his
collection (1757) Daubat was a dancing master in Gent
and taught at several schools and theaters.He also was the leader of a choir and was a violin player in a theater.
Mr. De Cat identifies a list of subscribers of the original publication,
numbering 132 individuals, of the higher level of society and the nobility, but
also including musicians and dance-masters (including the ballet-master from
the Italian opera in London). Many
of the tunes are written with parts for various instruments, and include a
numbered bass. Daubat (Cent Contredanses
en Rond), 1757; No. 65.

RYE STRAW [1]. AKA and see
"Alabama Waltz" (Mississippi
title), “Big Fish,” “Black My Boots and Go See
the Widow,” "Dog Shit a Rye
Straw," "Dog in the Rye
Straw," "The Dog in
Difficulty," "The Joke on
the Puppy," "Lady's Fancy,"
"The Unfortunate Pup," "The Unfortunate Dog," "A Whoop from Arkansas," Old‑Time,
Breakdown. USA; North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee,
Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana, Arkansas. D Major (most versions):
A Major (Frank Kittrell, Silberberg): G Major (Doc Roberts). Standard or ADae
(Frank Kittrell) tunings. AA’B (Titon): AABB (Brody, Kittrell, Spandaro): ABC
(Silberberg): AA'BBCC (Phillips): AABBCC (Ford): ABCCB' (Krassen): AABCCCCDD
(Reiner & Anick). The melody was known throughout the South and Midwest
under a variety of (mostly related) titles, but appears to have first been
published in the 1880's by George Coe of Boston, Mass., as "A Whoop from
Arkansas." Charles Wolfe (1983) states the Doc Roberts (Ky) used to sing
"a scatological ditty involving a dog, a grubbing hoe, and a straw"
to the tune, from which most of the titles appear to stem from. Joel Shimberg
learned the following words to “Rye Straw” from Missouri
fiddle tune collector Bob Christeson:

***

Dog shit a rye straw, dog shit a needle,

Dog shit a little boy playing on a fiddle.

***

Dog shit a rye straw, dog shit a minnow,

Dog shit a catfish big enough for dinner.

***

Dog shit a rye straw, dog shit a fiddle bow,

Dog shit a little boy working with a grubbing hoe.

***

These
lyrics were sung to the “Pigtown Fling” melody by a Michigan
fiddler (via Paul Gifford), but are clearly a variation of the above.

***

Dog shit a rye straw, dog shit a riddle‑o,

Dog shirt a rye straw longer than a fiddle bow.

***

Dog shit a catfish longer than a minner‑o,

Dog shit a catfish big enough for dinner‑o.

***

West Virginia
fiddler Ernie Carpenter remarked that the version fiddled by the regionally
influential musician Lewis Johnson “Uncle” Jack McElwain (1856-1938) of White
Oak (a tributary of Laurel Creek, near the village of Erbacon, Webster County,
West Virginia) was so good that: “When Jack ‘Wain played it, you had to open
the door and let the stink out” (Milnes, Play
of a Fiddle, 1999). Early Grand Ole’ Opry star Uncle Dave Macon, a singer
and banjo player, recorded the tune in 1938 (accompanied by a fiddler,
identified by the late musicologist Charles Wolfe as Tennessee fiddler Charlie
Arrington, who had also been a member of Paul Warmack & His Gully Jumpers)
at the end of the song “Johnny Grey” (a version of the ballad “Peter Gray”).

It has
been variously mentioned as having been played by Rock Ridge, Alabama, fiddlers
around 1920 (Bailey), and was mentioned in the autobiography and newspaper
accounts of Tom Freeman of Cullman County, Alabama, and also in reports (1926‑31)
of the De Kalb County Annual (Fiddlers') Convention (Cauthen, 1990). It was one
of the tune recorded by the Atlanta
Constitution in an article on the April, 1913, Atlanta fiddler’s
convention, as played by C.C. Moon of Logansville, Ga. (Wayne W. Daniel, 1990)
. The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by folklorist/musicologist
Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. Influential Mt
Airy, North Carolina, fiddler Tommy Jarrell knew the tune as "The Joke on
the Puppy," though its most common name seems to have been "Rye
Straw." A version of this tune is called "Lost Indian," a
floating title.

RYE
WALTZ. American, Schottische‑Waltz. USA; Washington,
Arizona, Michigan, New York, New England, Ohio, West Virginia. D Major (Ford,
Ruth): G Major (Johnson). Standard. AB. A version of the tune "Coming Through the Rye,"
the dance for which (the "Rye Waltz") combines a waltz step with a
schottische step (Linscott, 1939); this is the version Arizona fiddler Kenner
C. Kartchner knew when he described the first part in 2/4 time, the second
sixteen bars in waltz time. Although the dances hey-day was in the early 20th
century, the tune was, until recently, played by at least one old-time fiddler
for a dance in Champion, western New York state, according to fiddler Chad
Miller, although he only knew of one other fiddler who played the tune in that
region. Paul Gifford remarks that it is still well-known by old-time square
dancers in Michigan, Peter Yarensky reports it is still performed occasionally
in New Hampshire, and Kerry Blech says it was known among older informants in
Ohio and West Virginia. Ford (Traditional
Music in America), 1940; pg. 137. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician's No. 7: Michigan Tunes), vol. 7, 1986‑87;
pg. 8. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes),
1948; No. 31, pg. 12. Shaw (Cowboy Dances),
1943; pg. 394. Folkways FW8827, Arbuckle, Mikkelson
& Clifton - "Old Time Couple Dances" (1961). Victor Vi 23619 (78
RPM), White Mountain Orchestra (New Mexico?) –“Maxwell's Old Rye Waltz.”

X:1

T:Rye
Waltz

M:2/4

L:1/8

S:Shaw
– Cowboy Dances(1943)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

D>D
D<B|A>G A<B|D>D E>D|G2z2|D>D d>B|A>G A<B|D>D
E>D|G2 z2||

L:1/8

M:3/4

D4B2|G4B2|A4G2|A4B2|d4B2|G4d2|(e6|e4)
e2|d4B2|c4A2|B4G2|A2B4||

L:1/8

M:2/4

D>D
E>D|G2 g2||

RYE WHISKEY [1]. AKA and see
"Drunken Hiccups [1]."
Old‑Time, Waltz or Song tune. USA; Arkansas, Arizona. A Major. AEac#. The
tune is from an old and distinguished family originating in the British Isles,
but well‑known in America (see notes for "Drunken Hiccups").
The tune features pizzicato, or plucked, notes. Arizona fiddler Kenner C.
Kartchner, who knew the tune, "converted the usual EAea tuning to
standard" (Shumway). The usual tuning however, is AEac#. The tune was
recorded for the Library of Congress from musicologist/folklorist Vance
Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. The title is from a
song set to the tune:

***

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cried,

If I don't have rye whiskey I surely will die.

Other
lyrics go:

***

I'll eat when I'm hungry, I’’ drink when I’m dry;

If the hard times don’t kill me I’ll live till I die.

***

Beefsteak when I'm hungry, red liquor when I'm dry,

Greenbacks when I'm hard up and religion when I die.

***

Jack o' diamonds, jack o' diamonds, I know you of of
old,

You've robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold.

***

Oh Whiskey, you villain, you've been by downfall;

You've kicked me, you’ve cuffed me, but I love you for
all.

***

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck,

I'd dive to the bottom and get one sweet suck.

***

But the ocean ain't whiskey and I ain't a duck,

So we'll round up the cattle and then we'll get drunk.

***

An
interesting black variant was printed by the African-American collector Thomas
Talley in his 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes,
although the song mostly appears in white collections.Talley’s version, called “I’ll Eat When I’m
Hungry,” goes:

RYHOPE COLLIERY HORNPIPE.AKA – “Gold Dust Hornpipe.” English, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard tuning.
AABB. Ryhope Colliery was a coal mine in the old County Durham, near the
coastal village of Ryhope in Sunderland. It’s first shaft was sunk in 1855, and
coal continued to be extracted until 1966, when the mine closed. A whole
village was built along the valley to house the pitmen. There were no disasters
at the colliery in its entire existence. Northumbrian Piper’s Pocket Green
Book, 1993.

X:1

T:Ryhope Colliery Hornpipe

M:C

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

K:G

(3def|gd^cd BGFG|DGBG fdgd|ecBc Aceg|fdfa
(3c’af (3dfa|gd^cd BGFG|

EGDG CGB,G|EecA FDEF|A2G2G2::FG|Abcd
cAFD|GBdg bgdB|

Acea c’bag|(3abg (3fge d2 ef|gd^cd
BGFG|EGDG CGB,G|EecA FDEF|A2G2G2:|

RYLAN(D) SPENCER. AKA and see "Riley and Spencer," "Raleigh and Spencer." Old-Time,
Song.Tommy Jarrell corrected the
spelling of the title of this tune, which appears as "Raleigh and
Spencer" (two towns in Virginia/North Carolina, named by the way, for two
of the powerful families from Wessex, England, who settled the area), and
speculated that the name Rylan Spenser may refer to a bootlegger. Cecilia
Conway, in African Banjo Echoes in
Appalachia (1995) reports that the song may have a banjo tradition, as a
related variant, "Reno Factory," was learned by African-American
Marvin Fodrell (Stuart, Patrick County, Virginia) learned the tune from his
banjo-playing father, Posey. Chubby Dragon CD1008, Brad Leftwich, Bruce
Molsky et al – “Mountairy.usa” (2001). Marimac 9038, Dan Gellert & Brad Leftwich - "A Moment in
Time."

RYRO'S
HOUSE. AKA ‑ "Rya's House," "Riro's
House." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Piedmont region of North Carolina.
In the repertoire of Joe Thompson, African-American fiddler from Orange County,
N.C., who played the piece in FCgd tuning. Global
Village C217, Joe and Odel Thompson ‑ "Old Time Music From the North
Carolina Piedmont."